This invention relates to an integral bladed member and to a method of manufacturing such an integral bladed member.
It is known to manufacture discs with integral aerofoil blades, for instance those which are suitable for use in an axial flow compressor of a gas turbine engine, by injecting an appropriate resin matrix material into a die containing reinforcing fibers which have been aligned in a predetermined manner. There are problems with such a method of manufacture, however, in ensuring that the fibres remain in the desired configuration during the injection operation. Moreover it is difficult to ensure that all of the fibres are so disposed as to provide a bladed disc with optimum strength characteristics. A further disadvantage of the method is that it can be expensive in view of the fact that the reinforcing fibres usually have to be laid-up by hand.